Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 9 Jun 1998

Vol. 492 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Industrial Development.

Mr. Wall

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment of the House this evening. Since the late 1970s, Athy and its hinterland have suffered an extraordinary decline in manufacturing industry. Approximately 150 jobs were lost through the closure of Irish Board Mills, 100 jobs through the closure of the IVI factory, 25 jobs through the closure of Pymah Ltd., 50 jobs through the closure of Sherwood Medical and 30 jobs through the closure of PMPA. Substantial job losses also occurred in a number of other plants such as Greencore, Bord na Móna, Euro-west, Peerless Rug, Borden International and Hickey Fabrics due to redundancies or company restructuring. It now seems that Borden International may reduce its workforce by anything up to 20 employees. No town and its hinterland can sustain this dramatic haemorrhaging of job losses.

The workforce of this area of south Kildare has met the challenges posed by all types of industry from heavy to precision and highly skilled. It has never been found wanting in any regard and no personnel problems were experienced in any of the cases mentioned. The area has the necessary workforce and structure for further development given its proximity to Tallaght Regional Technical College, new infrastructure within the county, accessibility to NUI, Maynooth and all Dublin universities.

We are seeking a commitment from the Minister that she will actively pursue new industry for the area to ensure this employment black spot is reactivated to its mid-1970 status when employment in the area was substantially better than it is now. At a recent meeting with members of Athy UDC, the Minister promised that a survey of unemployed people in the area would be carried out. Subsequent to that, in reply to a letter from me, the Minister stated this position was being investigated. Can the Minister inform me whether this survey will be carried out and, if so, when that will happen? An urgent decision must be taken to carry out such a survey in order that prospective employers are armed with valuable information to assist them in the possible selection of Athy as a base.

Athy has the potential to develop; it is a heritage town which is currently seeking urban renewal status. The town has witnessed a major residential upsurge and has excellent schools and water and sewerage services. I urge the Minister and the relevant State agencies to actively pursue prospective industries for Athy to ensure that it and its hinterland regain their former status and does not continue to suffer the kind of employment haemorrhaging which has marked them as an industrial black spot in a county where the overall picture is a promising one.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Ms Harney)

As the Deputy is aware, attracting industry and employment to a particular part of the country is a day-to-day matter for the industrial development agencies under the aegis of my Department. The agencies are committed to securing new investment for Athy and every effort is being made to ensure that this happens as quickly as possible.

The difficulties encountered in Athy have been exacerbated by the recent announcement of the closure of Borden International, a can factory. The closure of this company has led to the establishment of a forum for Athy. Membership of the forum includes local community representatives, trade representatives, Local authority members for the area and the State agencies. The forum has now established two sub groups which will examine aspects of the forum's development brief. First, the forum will examine the feasibility of providing an enterprise centre in Athy. This will examine how the infrastructure can be provided locally to promote small industry development. This group consists of representatives from the county enterprise board, Athy UDC, FÁS and Forbairt. Second, the forum will look at ways to create an environment to promote employment opportunities in Athy. The membership of this group is made up of representatives of Athy UDC, Athy Chamber of Commerce, Athy Community Council and IDA Ireland.

In addition, Forbairt has prioritised Athy as a location for mobile investment in the food and natural resources sectors and a number of investment itineraries to Athy town and its environs have been organised recently in order to promote Athy for such investment. Forbairt is also working closely with the local authorities in the area to ensure there are suitably serviced sites and other facilities for the visiting companies.

The former Sherwood building in Athy is being promoted by both IDA Ireland and Forbairt and is attracting a lot of interest from a number of potential investors. In a more general sense, I would emphasise the commitment in the programme for Government to ensure appropriate priority is given to encouraging industrial development in the regions. I intend to ensure the development agencies carry out their remit in this regard and I believe this is characterised by the number of new jobs announced outside the Dublin area since this Government came into office.